Problem Solver: Passing through Tollway proves costly

Ohio resident thought he had paid his missed tolls. He hadn't.

John Kuntz, of Ohio, on vacation with his family, thought he’d paid the full fare online for using Illinois’ tollway. (John LaPorte, Chicago Tribune)

In all, John Kuntz and his family traveled more than 5,000 miles on their summer road trip, hitting Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado and Grand Teton in Wyoming.

It was, the Akron, Ohio, resident said, a good trip.

Except for a small glitch in Illinois.

Kuntz drove through the Chicago area June 15. Along the way, he passed several toll booths on Interstate 90.

"We were in the wrong lane. We didn't know what the hell we were doing because there was a lot of traffic. I couldn't get over. Then I saw a sign saying I could pay online."

It took him two more days to get to Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, where Kuntz found a Wi-Fi spot and logged on using his laptop.

Determined to do the right thing, he went to the Illinois Tollway's website. He typed in where he had entered the Jane Addams Memorial Tollway and the website spit out how much he owed. He said it told him to pay $3.80.

"I paid the highest fare," he said. "I thought 'I'm good to go.'"

Several weeks later, Kuntz received a letter from the Tollway. It said he owed $66.40 — $6.40 for the tolls and $60 in fines.

"I thought, you're kidding me," he said.

The letter said he could request a hearing by mail, which he did. He typed in an explanation of what happened and attached his receipt showing he paid the $3.80 online.

He received the Tollway's determination in the mail. He was liable for the entire $66.40.

It got worse. If Kuntz didn't pay, his fines would increase by another $150. He could appeal, but that fee was an additional $290, he said.

Upset, Kuntz called the Illinois Tollway and asked to speak to a supervisor. The supervisor steadfastly maintained Kuntz owed the $66.40.

He hung up and called Attorney General Lisa Madigan's office. Someone there referred him to Gov. Pat Quinn's office. From there, he was transferred to another representative at the Tollway, who told him he would look into it, Kuntz said.

"He finally called back and said, 'You have to pay the $66.40 and there's nothing I can do,'" Kuntz said.

Just before Labor Day, Kuntz called the Illinois Tollway again, and threatened to contact What's Your Problem?

A representative called him back and agreed to lop off one of the missed tolls and its fine, reducing what he owed to $43.40.

Not happy with the outcome, Kuntz contacted What's Your Problem?

He said he spoke with an attorney who told him he should just pony up the money.

"This is all for $3," he said. "I'm mortified, but basically the attorney said just pay it because it's only going to get more expensive from here."

He said he did what the Tollway told him to do by logging on to the website and paying for the missed tolls.

Now, he feels over a barrel.

"The way I feel is they either have me paying $43 which I don't owe or paying $290 to appeal," Kuntz said. "I'm not rich but I'm stuck."

The Problem Solver called Illinois Tollway spokeswoman Wendy Abrams, then forwarded all of Kuntz's information.

On Wednesday, Abrams said the Tollway decided to erase all remaining charges.

She said that when Kuntz paid the missing tolls online, he did not provide the plaza number so the actual cost was not known. As a result, the website charged him the maximum toll, $3.80, Abrams said. The $3.80 paid for only one of the four tolls he went through, she said.

"After researching your reader's concerns, it appears that, while the customer may have made mistakes that resulted in the violations, we've determined that our customer service representatives may have provided erroneous information as well, which led to greater confusion and exacerbated the issue," Abrams said in an email. "In response, we have informed Mr. Kuntz that we have dismissed the toll violation notice as a courtesy and apologized for any inconvenience we caused him."

Abrams said the Tollway understands motorists make mistakes, so it tries to make it easy for customers who have missed a toll to pay online or by mail within the seven-day grace period.

"We are constantly monitoring our customer service representatives' performance and are in the process of doing a total makeover of our customer service center operations," Abrams said.

That includes having the Tollway's call center staffed by workers from Chicago Lighthouse, a nonprofit agency, she said.

Kuntz insists he paid exactly what the website told him to pay.

"My understanding was that (the $3.80) paid for all of them," he said. "That was the maximum westbound fee."

Still, he's happy to have the situation behind him.

"I think it's great," he said. "But I'll believe it when I get the letter."